The new Hydrangea cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Independence, La. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new Hydrangea paniculata varieties for landscape use. The open pollination resulting in this new variety was made during 2007.
Seed was bulk collected from a variety of unpatented Hydrangea paniculata plants which had been open pollinated. The exact seed parent is unidentified. The pollen parent is unknown, as it was an open pollination breeding program. The new variety was identified as a potentially interesting selection in August of 2008, at a nursery in Independence, La.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘LEEP1’ by softwood cuttings was first performed during the May of 2009, at commercial nursery in Independence, La. Subsequent propagation has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.